‘You failed if you weren’t safe’: KIRO hosts weigh in on Netflix doc alleging Boeing bypassed inspections

A new Netflix documentary is putting Boeing’s safety culture back in the spotlight, and KIRO hosts believe the latest round of whistleblower allegations is difficult to hear for people who have long considered the company part of the Pacific Northwest’s identity.

“Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing” is a film that features employees at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner factory in Charleston who allege scrap parts were put back on airplanes for years and that the company’s schedule-driven culture pushed workers to bypass inspections.

In the documentary’s trailer, whistleblower Merle Meyers described the pressure inside Boeing’s factories.

“It’s a race to the bottom with managers, and it’s everybody trying to keep up schedule,” Meyers said. “That’s really the king.”

KIRO fill-in host Jim Dever said on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio that the allegations are hard to square with his admiration for the company.

“I feel like I’m a huge Boeing booster. If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going,” Dever said. “Having said that, it is also a huge company with a lot of moving parts, pardon the pun. And it has to be locked down to the T because you can’t have accidents like doors blowing off of airplanes.”

Dever pointed to the trailer’s claim that scrap parts described as “basically rotted” were installed on aircraft.

“That does not build a lot of sense of confidence as a flyer,” Dever said.

Russell compares Boeing’s pressure to newsroom deadlines but with higher stakes

KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell connected Boeing’s schedule pressure to her own experience in broadcast news, where rushing to meet deadlines led to mistakes, although she noted the consequences for an aerospace company are on a different level.

“The mistakes that I’ve made, it was when I was rushing,” Russell said. “And so you have a company that, you know, you’re beholden to investors and profit and competition. And it just seems like that can be at odds when your business should be safety. You failed if you weren’t safe that day.”

Dever agreed, saying the dynamic isn’t unique to Boeing but that aviation leaves no margin for error.

“Boeing is not immune from it. They have to get those products out, and they have to get them out on time, or billions of dollars are on the line,” Dever said. “And I think the employees definitely feel that.”

Dever understood the pressure to deliver on time, but noted that Boeing should have safeguards that prevent workers from cutting corners.

“There should be systems in place to back that up so that they’re not compelled to do something that could compromise safety,” Dever said. “But obviously, at least allegedly, there have been plenty of corners cut.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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